Warriors of the Wind
by SolcaOkami
Summary: How the Canine Warriors were formed,and their lives before Okami
1. Prologue

Warriors of the Wind

This is about the Canine Warriors, how the eight you meet in the game were formed.

Prologue

Two dogs sat facing each other. They lived in the same hut, but were very different. The first was a stocky dog, with lots of muscle and strength. His fur was snowy white, with brown over his ears and muzzle. His back was dotted with black spots, and scars from old battles. He had a wolfish face, with ears that stuck out to the side and down slightly, one higher than the other. His thin furred tail hardly ever stopped wagging, and his amber-brown eyes shone happily. But his seemingly cheerful personality hid a life of fighting and a brave heart.

The other was sleek furred, a tall, graceful dog. He was slim, behind his thick glossly fur. It was black, with splashes of white on his chest and paws. He carried his elegent flowing tail high above him when he ran, but now it lay close to his side. In his youth, he had been the fstest dog in all of Nippon, but now gray hairs covered his muzzle and his joints creaked painfully in the cold. He got up stiffly and padded around the room, the other dog's eyes following him. The black dog was in fact younger than the other, who showed no outward sign of age. He growled grumpily, thinking and staring at the door. A wind blew through the gap underneath it, and both canines shivered, not just from cold.

"The divine wind." The white began. "The breath of the wind god and protector of Taka Pass. Our protector."

"And yet we should be protecting it, Jeni." The other growled angrily.

Jeni looked at him. "No, Kuya, we are both too old now. We were right to leave when we did. Besides, the others shall protect the Village."

"The Satomi Canine Warriors. Honour, faith and loyalty remain. But where is knowledge, justice, duty? Where is wisdom?" he growled, remembering when he had been the Warrior of Wisdom.

"I know, Kuya. And you forgot something, brotherhood. They need a leader."

"Yes. The Warrior of Honour should never be leader, power coropts them. "

Jeni nodded sadly, remembering the years before, when there had been eight warriors of the wind. Three wasn't enough. The evil grew stronger every year.

"But what can we do?" he asked sadly. "We are old now, our time of fighting is over."

Kuya looked thoughtful. "I shall tell Rei that they need more warriors."

Jeni snorted. "He won't listen."

"I was once the Warrior of Wisdom. He must respect me." The black dog said slightly arrogantly, and strode out.

Jeni stood undecided for a moment, then followed him, growling slightly.

* * *

"No. "

That was all that he would say about it. Kuya stood in front of the Warrior of Honour, who sat on a throne like structure in the middle of the first room of the Gale Shrine. Both canines wore stubborn expressions. Beside Kuya stood Jeni, who looked like he was ready to fight. Shin, the green Warrior of Faith, stood behind the throne, looking nervously between them. Hayabusa sighed from his place at the edge of the room. He was a powerfully built large brown dog, with darker stripes along his flanks. A purple scarf circled his neck, with a blue orb attached, marked with the kanji of loyalty. He was loyal to the wind god Kazegami, and was trying not to get involved in the arguement. He agreed with Kuya, they needed eight Warriors again, but rei would listen to no one.

"Rei, we need more warriors! If not-"

Rei cut off Kuya's plea. "I am the leader! If we add more Warriors, they may take over!"

Jeni growled. "You have become too obsessed with power. This is why the Warrior of Honour should never be leader."

Rei's fur bristled, and haya got up slowly, ready to defend him. rei was his leader, and he would always be loyal to him. but before any of the canines began to snarl at each other, a cold wind blew through the room, stopping them all. They gathered in a circle and looked uupwards in anticipation. The faded scrolls hanging on the wall, showing a painting of the wind god, began to rise and fall in the wind that was now rushing around, getting faster. A shrill neigh rang out, and the loops of wind gathered into a shape.

The horse god, Kazegami, neighed again and cantered a few circles around them before stopping to face them, floating in the air on a current of divine wind. The flag on his back showed a swirl of green wind, and red markings covered his face and body. He stamped his hoof angrily, sending a burst of wind into their faces.

"Why do you fight?" he demanded.

"Oh most noble Kazegami of the wind." Rei said, with a touch of sarcasm but fear as well. "This old warrior says that myself and the other two are not enough to defend your land."

Kuya trembled slightly, fearing that he would be punished.

But Kazegami snorted and shook his head. "No, the old warrior speaks the truth."

"But I am the leader! I shall give my life to defend Kusa Villiage!"

Kaze frowned. "I speak through the Warrior of Wisdom. The Warrior of Brotherhood leads. Duty guides. Justice gives you a reason. Knowledge helps. Faith supports and gives hope. Loyalty unties you all, and Honour fights. All eight are needed, none can stand alone."

Rei dropped his gaze to the floor, fearing the god too much to contradict him. "Fine. We shall begin searching for dogs to become the remaining five warriors."

The horse nodded. "Make you that you do. Thank you Kuya, Jeni, for reminding me. Now, I have work to do." He faded back into the wind.

Rei snapped his head up. "Well, you heard the horse." He snarled. "Go on, Shin, Hayabusa, go and find another five."

Haya dipped his head and gladly left, slightly alarmed by the madness in Rei's eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ko

His story began like that of any other dog.

He was born and raised in a hut outside Hana Valley, by an old man. Those were the days when he was carefree, and unaware of the dangers he would soon face. He had brown black fur, blue eyes and gleaming white teeth, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about him. nothing to suggest that he would become the Warrior of Wisdom.

The days and nights stretched into months, and still the life of the young dog was unchanged, a never ending pattern of mock hunts and battles, and lying by the fire on cold nights.

It was on one of these nights that his life finally changed.

He lay next to the fire, half asleep and content. The old man, with white hair and missing teeth, lay in his chair, his hand resting on the dogs head. He spat out a lump of yellow spit, which landed in the fire. He began to tell tales of long ago, of when was a young boy and the great Nagi still lived. The old legend of Nagi and Shiranui's fight against Orochi. The dog yawned, not really listening. He had heard it so many times, from the other animals as well. A passing wolf, dark red and black furred, travelling with a red Poncle, had told him what he called 'the true legend', involving time travel and Kamui. But to the dog it was all just a legend, tales of gods and demons belonged in the past. The sound of the old man's snores filled the hut.

He crept silently out of the door, and into the open air. He breathed in great lungfulls of fresh air, digging his claws into the cold earth. It was night, and had been raining, the sky still covered in dark clouds. He leapt over the river, surprised to find that a path had opened in the cliff, leading up to the area above. He ran up quickly, only stopping when he reached the strange tower like structure.

He had seen it many times from below, but never this close. He touched his nose to the side, breathing in the scent, of oldness and ice. The great stone sword on top reached towards the heavens, gleaming in the light of the storm. A bolt of lightning struck it, sending sparks showering off it, and slowly something inside the tower began to turn, and part of the stone slid upwards, revealing a doorway. He walked around to the opening, cold air blowing towards him out of it. He paused, wondering whether to go through.

"You don't want to go in there."

The speaker was a human male. The dog turned sharply to face him. A tall human stood there, with a dog beside him. The human looked young, but the dog could tell that he was impossibly old, even older than his owner. In one hat he carried a flute, and he wore a strange hat on his head, shaped like a hawk's head with great wings fanning out behind it. The dog beside him was dark reddish brown, about the same age as the first dog. He curled his lips into a snarl, revealing long sharp teeth.

The man spoke again. "That tunnel leads to Kamui, the land of snow and ice. That is not your path, wise one."

_What the? Wise one?_ The first dog snorted in shock. That was something that was said to elders, not foolish young dogs like him. it must have shown in his face, for the man laughed.

"I'm a prophet. I can see a little of your future."

He frowned sceptically. _See the future?_ That sort of power belonged in the fairy tales. Now he thought about it, he was sure that there was something about a prophet in the Orochi legend. To his relief, the dog seemed fairly normal. He stepped forward and they sniffed each other slowly, exchanging information. The prophet's dog smelt of water, as if he spent a lot of time near it. When they had finished, he yawned slightly and sat down.

"I'm Ko." The first dog told him.

"I'm Shira, and this is-" he was about to introduce his master, but the human cut him off.

"Ko, hey? The Warrior of Wisdom...the name suits you."

_He could understand what they were saying?_ Ko gasped slightly, amazed that this human, however strange he may be, could understand his words. He had talked to many different animals, but no human had ever shown that they understood what he was saying. He frowned. Who exactly was this guy? Perhaps he was one of the Oina tribe, who could turn from man to wolf. But that didn't seem to fit.

The so called prophet looked at Ko for a few heartbeats, then his gaze unfocused and he looked very far away.

"It's a vision." Shira explained. "Of the future."

The prophet's eyes went back to normal, but now there was alarm in them, and he spoke quickly. "We had better be going now. And you better get home, fast."

Suddenly Shira's eyes widened too, and he looked down the slope. "I smell demon." He growled.

_Demon?_ Ko didn't even know what demon smelt like, but there was a sour tang in the air, like smoke, blowing towards him from the valley. He turned back to Shira and the human, but they were gone.

"Hello? Shira? Prophet guy?" but there was no answer, and no scent leading away, as if they had just vanished into thin air. The demon smell was stronger now, as was the sense of danger, and he ran down the path as fast as he could, stopping only when he reached the hut.

It had been burnt to ashes, a slowly smouldering pile of grey. The demons that had caused it were almost all gone, with only a few imps dancing round the embers, but there had been many more. Ko growled sadly,knowing that his master was gone. He ran at the imps in fury, slashing at them with his claws and teeth. They merely laughed and dodged out of the way, striking back with their instrument like weapons. One hit him in the back and he yelped in pain, leaping away to end the fight. He ran quickly, pelts burning in shame, the imps calling wild insults after him. he finally stopped on a clifftop above a path lined with cherry blossom trees. There was a large building behind him, with a glittering pool of water.

He laid down in the wet grass. _if only I had stayed!_ He howled silently. Maybe he could have helped, maybe his owner could have escaped. But now he knew he was gone forever. _I couldn't do anything to help. I would just get killed too. _he told himself, but that didn't make it any better. He howled miserably, then fell into a sleep, disturbed by nightmares of imps and fire.

* * *

Hayabusa looked at the pitiful canine in front of him with a mixture of pity and disgust. He looked so weak, the small young dark brown wolf with closed eyes, whimpering quietly to himself as he slept. Pitiful compared to the dog standing over him, large and powerful, one of the Warriors of the Satomi house that he had served for many years. He had fought demons, alongside his brothers of the wind, fought to protect the things closest to his heart, Kamiki Villiage and his companion, the boy Mushi. But now sorrow clouded his heart and he was tired of fighting as he looked at this dog with sad green eyes.

_There must be new warriors, _he thought. Since Kuya had persuaded Rei to let others join, Haya had been on the lookout for talented young dogs. This dog might be one of them.

He prodded the cub with a large paw, and he grunted, raising his head. When he saw Haya he scrambled to his feet, blinking sleepily and shaking his head. He looked confused and unsure, as if he didn't know what to do.

"Hey, runt, what's up? haven't you got a home to go to?" he asked.

"No. It burnt down." The cub growled.

Hayabusa nodded. He had smelt the smoke the day before. "Never mind, do you want to stay with me for a bit? I live in Kamiki Village."

The cub nodded eagerly. "Ya, sure! I'm Ko."

"Ko...for wisdom. Shame you don't have any. I'm Hayabusa. Satomi Canine Warrior of loyalty."

"Oh I've heard of you guys! The eight Warriors of the Wind!"

Haya nodded absently. _He better not be this annoying all the time,_ he thought darkly. _And it's not eight anymore...but maybe some time in the future._ With Ko bouncing behind him in excitement, he lead the way into the village.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ume

All he had ever wanted was a quiet life, to raise his family in peace. But when the Call came, he couldn't resist it.

It was a beautiful night in Agata Forest, the moonless sky clear and peaceful. The wolf yawned and stretched inside the cave overlooking the spring. He was leader of the pack, a pinkish coloured wolf with short fur. His pack was small, himself, his sister, and his two cubs, raised by his sister as his mate was a dog in Kamiki Village.

He left the Den and padded down the slope. To his left, there were several islands. On the biggest, a boy was fishing. He was a young human, nine or ten summers, he thought, still a cub really. He watched as he flung the rod into the Deep Black Water, and grinned. He was rubbish! He stood out there all day, every day, but never caught anything. He shook his head and walked on.

Suddenly there was a splash from behind him. The boy had fallen in! He raced to the water's edge, about to jump in, but he stopped.

The boy was in the Deep Black Water, where his paws couldn't reach and he couldn't fight the current. He could remember his third cub falling in there, and him trying to save him, but the cub got swept over the waterfall. He shuddered. But that couldn't happen to the boy. He hesitated a moment longer, then jumped in.

The water was freezing cold, and he couldn't swim very well, but he reached the boy as quick as he could. He grabbed hold of the boy's ridiculous hat and pulled him to land. He dragged him out, licking his face until it turned a normal colour. He gave a half howl of relief as the boy sat up. Then suddenly he felt the ground begin to shake beneath his feet and heard a terrible roar coming from Taka Pass, followed by a single pleading yowl, begging for help. It was a dog! He looked around. There was no one there. The boy was gazing around in terror. Without stopping to check if he was ok, Ume sprang across the island and raced in the direction of the Call.

* * *

Rei growled as he looked at the wolf in front of him, the first to come forward to become a Canine Warrior.

"What is your name?" he asked in a bored voice.

"Ume. What's this place? I thought I heard a dog in trouble, so-"

Rei growled. "Do you have a plum for brains, too? This is the Gale Shrine, the temple of the wind."

He ignored Shin's reproachful glare. That dog was too open minded and forgiving for his own good. This Ume dog didn't look very strong to him, quite pathetic actually.

"So, do you think you have what it takes to become a Satomi Canine Warrior?"

"A whatty?" Ume asked with a confused look.

Rei sighed impatiently. "You know what, forget it. We don't need more Warriors." He turned and made his way back to the stone throne, his back to Ume and Shin.

"No, Rei, you know what Kazegami said!" Shin hissed in his ear. Rei pulled his head away quickly and glared at the Warrior of Faith.

"Huh. What's the oh so high and mighty wind god gonna do about it?"

He heard an angry snort from behind him.

"Oh- er- most noble and mighty Kazegami, god of the wind, I wasn't talking about you, of course." He laughed nervously through gritted teeth.

The horse god tossed his head, sending a fierce wind blowing in Rei's face.

"Warrior of Honor, sometimes I question my wisdom in choosing you as the leader of the Satomi Canine Warriors." Kazegami snorted, then stamped his hoof, causing a circle of five Orbs to appear flowing above his back, the Satomi Power Orbs of Justice, Wisdom, Knowledge, Duty and Brotherhood.

Ume gazed at him with shocked eyes. Rei had to hide a snort of disgust. Had this wolf never heard of the gods?

Kazegami neighed, one pink Orb breaking free of the circle and zooming towards Ume. It collided with his head, causing a darker pink scarf to appear and the Orb to be fixed in place.

"Ume, you are now known as Jin, the Satomi CAnine Warrior of Justice. Return to the forest, and come to defend Kusa Village when you are called." Kazegami neighed, then vanished back into the wind.

"So go on then, plum head. Scat!" Rei growled. Ume merely gave him an odd look, and with a dip of his head to Shin, left the Shrine.

Shin sighed, resting his head on his paws as he watched Rei pace angrily back and forth. Having such a power hungry leader was not good. He would destroy them all if he wasn't careful. There was only one thing that was certain.

The quest for the new warriors was not going well.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hayume

Hayume crept out of the house, tasting the dawn air. She ran up the slope that lead to the River of the Heavens. She stopped to look in the pool. She was a young brown dog wolf, with green eyes. She sighed. Why did she have to be a dog? She had to stay in the village with her mother, while her two younger siblings lived in the forest with her father, Ume. She longed to live in the wild like him, to learn to hunt and live under the stars. The village was boring, with not many other dogs. But there was someone who could teach her to be a wolf.

She broke away from the pool and carried on running, careful to go around the gate that lead to the great tree, Konohana. She had only met the wood sprite Sakuya a few times, but she was sure that she wouldn't want her going where she was going.

She enter the portal and ran through the field, crossing the bridge. She stood on the other side, waiting for him, when suddenly she heard someone behind her. She turned, but barely caught a glimpse of dark fur before the wolf leapt at her. She growled and rolled away. The wolf sat down and looked at her, blue eyes sparkling, the most gorgeous wolf she had ever met. She narrowed her eyes. "You nearly had me, Ko."

He grinned. "I'll get you next time." Then his grin faded slightly. "Why didn't you come yesterday?"

She frowned. "I couldn't get away. Had to guard the chickens."

Ko snorted. "Chickens? They don't need guarding, they need eating!"

"Ko, you know that I'll get kicked out if I eat the chickens." He was always saying things like this, almost as if he wanted her to be thrown out of the village.

"Yeah, whatever. Come on, let's hunt!" he turned and raced towards the Cave of Nagi.

"Wait, Ko!" she cried, chasing after him. What he really meant was that _he_ would hunt, and she would watch. He was trying to teach her, and she was getting better at small animals, but anything bigger than a goose and she was hopeless.

She found him in a clearing, gazing at the river of starlight in wonder. "Isn't it beautiful?" he whispered.

She nodded. _Like your eyes_, she thought. "Let's go back to Konohana. You know we can't cross the River." They had tried before, but just got swept back. They knew that a cave with a huge statue of the great Nagi lay beyond, but they had never seen it.

Ko turned back towards her. "Its winter." He complained. "There's nothing decent to eat here. Hayabusa says that all the large prey has gone, to the Field and Forest."

She looked away. She knew what he was asking. He was going hunting with Haya, away from the village, to hunt in the wild. And he wanted her to go with him.

But her mother wanted her to stay in the village. Suddenly, she felt a flash of rebellion. "What about the deer herd?" the words came tumbling out before she could stop them. The village kept a small deer herd, which they sacrificed on the day of the festival.

Ko gaped at her. "But they belong to the village! We can't kill them, the villagers would go mad!"

She narrowed her eyes cunningly. "Well, its the Festival in two nights, so they kill three deer anyway, and they'll be too drunk on sake to notice another one missing."

He nodded. "Ok, I'll meet you at Konohana in two nights then. " they touched noses, then she turned and made her way back down to the village.

She walked past the small hut where Mushi lived. He was standing in the doorway, and ran to her. "Hayabusa!" he cried.

She sighed deeply. Mushi always got confused between her and Hayabusa. Everyone did, because they looked so alike. Mushi's mother walked in, carrying a basket of turnips that she put down on the table. "Mushi, that's Hayume, not Hayabusa. Hayabusa has a purple scarf, remember? And he's been missing since midday yesterday."

Hayume pricked up her ears. Her uncle was gone? She had thought that he was hunting the day before. Mushi's father had came into the village late, and she had been half asleep and thought Hayabusa was with him.

But where was he? Had he gone to visit her father? Anger spiked through her pelt. Why hadn't he taken her! She slumped down near the door of her own hut to guard, huffing angrily, before she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
